Many electrical and/or telecommunications cables (e.g., fiber optic cables, coaxial cables, copper twisted pair cables, etc.) are run underground or through the walls and floors/ceilings of buildings. In order to protect these cables from moisture, water damage, corrosion, rodents and the like and/or to route the cables in an organized fashion, the cables are often enclosed in protective hollow tubes that are typically referred to as “cable conduits” or simply as “conduits.” In addition to environmental protection and cable organization, cable conduits may also serve other functions such as, for example, providing flame retardency (e.g., for cables that run through the walls, floors and/or ceilings of residences and commercial buildings).
Typically, cable conduits are formed from one or more lengths of polyethylene or polyvinylchloride tubing or other plastic tubing that is connected (if multiple lengths of conduit are used) and laid in the ground or positioned in the building where the cables are to be routed. The cables are typically installed in the cable conduit by pulling each cable through the conduit. For example, one end of a rope may be blown through the conduit, while the other end of the rope is attached to one of the cables. By pulling on the end of the rope that is blown through the conduit, the cable may be drawn through the conduit. In some cases, the cable(s) can be pre-installed in the conduit at, for example, the factory where the conduit is manufactured. Once in place within the conduit, the cable is protected from damage which may be caused by weather, moisture and other hazards.
In many instances, it is necessary to break open a conduit in order to gain access to one or more of the cables inside the conduit to, for example, connect the cable to another cable or to a piece of equipment. In some instances, access to as much as fifty feet or more of a cable may be necessary (e.g., for creating a slack loop). In order to expose such a length of cable, the conduit is typically cut using a cutting tool along its transverse direction, and then a conduit slitting tool such as, for example, a Cable Sheath Slitter (part number 10923) available from CommScope, Inc., the assignee of the present application, is used to make two longitudinal slits in the conduit to expose the cables running therein. The conduit may be transversely cut a second time at the far end of the slits in order to completely remove the slit portion of the conduit. This second cut may be made before or after the slits are cut.
While these methods of breaking open conduits are effective, they can be time consuming and/or tiring for installers to accomplish.